Harlow Times Summer Edition - Harlow Council

More documents

Recommendations

Info

More and better housing Continued from page 1 Over the next year the Council will be: • Upgrading over 1,300 kitchens. • Modernising over 900 bathrooms. • Replacing over 3,400 front and rear doors with highsecurity products. • Installing over 1,300 new energy-effi cient heating systems. The fi ve-year £100m investment programme will be funded by rents and additional grants secured by the Council. Changes to the way Council housing is now fi nanced means the Council can reinvest money back into improving homes. The programme has been prioritised following an independent condition survey of Council homes carried out last year. The homes that will benefi t fi rst are those that require improvement to meet the Decent Homes Standard by 2015. These homes will receive a letter from the Council outlining the work that will be undertaken. © Fotolia.com Councillor Rod Truan, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Housing, said: “This is the biggest investment ever made in modernising Council housing in Harlow, which will improve our tenants’ quality of life. The programme has been prioritised so we make sure the homes that benefi t fi rst are those most in need of improving to meet the Decent Homes Standard. Over the next fi ve years the plan is that nearly every Council home will receive some form of improvement work. “Improvements like making homes warmer and more economical to run, updating kitchens and bathrooms and replacing old windows and doors with highsecurity products will all help provide better housing in Harlow.” The Council has published a two-year programme showing the number of homes in each area and types of improvement work which will be completed. An outline programme for years three, four and fi ve has also been agreed and before each of those years a detailed programme will be published. More information on the investment programme can be found at www.harlow.gov.uk/ housing-investment-programme Over the next fi ve years the Council plans to: Internal modernisations and replacements: • Upgrade over 4,600 kitchens. • Modernise over 4,400 bathrooms. • Install over 4,900 energyeffi cient boilers and/or full heating systems. • Carry out over 3,500 electrical rewires. • Install over 3,300 hardwired smoke detectors. • Replace over 10,000 extractor fans with new models. External works: • Upgrade over 2,400 double-glazed windows in homes. • Replace over 6,300 front and rear doors with highsecurity products. • Replace over 1,000 fl at and pitched roofs. • Carry out environmental improvements – new door entry systems, bin store upgrades, fencing and paving schemes – in fl at blocks. 2 email: contact@harlow.gov.uk ● www.harlow.gov.uk ● Tel: (01279) 446655 harlow home • summer 2013
More and better housing Annual Tenants Survey 2012 Thank you to all tenants who filled in a Housing Services Annual Tenants Survey which was carried out by BMG research. Over 290 surveys were returned and the data is now being analysed. The results will be shared with you in the September edition of Harlow Home. The winner of the survey prize draw was Miss Worth of Great Parndon who wins £100 of shopping vouchers after her name was randomly selected by BMG Research. Tenants Forum January 2013 Dates for forthcoming events Summer Tenants Forum 2013 Tuesday 25 June 2013 Committee Rooms 2A & B, Harlow Civic Centre Forum begins at 7pm Annual Tenants and Leaseholders Conference Saturday 12 October 2013 10am at the Latton Bush Centre Kier Harlow Customer Services Surgeries The surgeries are useful for discussing repairs, refurbishment works, street cleaning or grounds maintenance issues directly with a Kier Harlow representative. Why not drop in and see them at the Civic Centre between 9am and 4.45pm on any of the following dates: Friday 28 June 2013 Friday 26 July 2013 Friday 30 August 2013 Please ask at reception for more information. Contact Zulfi Kiani, Tenant Initiatives Offi cer on (01279) 446330, or email tenant.relations@harlow.gov.uk Pay your rent and service charges by Direct Debit and help keep costs down Tenants and leaseholders – it is now easier to pay your rent and service charges by Direct Debit. We offer three choices of dates within the month for Direct Debits: 1, 15 and 25 for rent and 5, 15 and 25 for leaseholder service charges. The benefits of Direct Debit include: It spreads the cost Your payments are spread evenly throughout the year and once it is set up you no longer have to worry about getting behind with your payments. It reduces the cost to the Council It helps us to keep costs down for collecting payments and that means lower charges for you. It costs the Council around 4p to process a Direct Debit and around 39p to process a cheque, and this does not include staff costs. It’s guaranteed You are protected by three important safeguards: • An immediate money-back guarantee from your bank in the event of an error. • Advance notice if the date or amount changes. • The right to cancel at any time. There’s no queuing up to pay your bills The process is quick and easy to set up. If you would like to pay by Direct Debit or change the date of your existing plan please call Contact Harlow on (01279) 446655. harlow home • summer 2013 email: contact@harlow.gov.uk ● www.harlow.gov.uk ● Tel: (01279) 446655 3
Page 1 and 2: 2013 News from Harlow Council harlo
Page 3 and 4: News in Brief Council becomes a Liv
Page 5 and 6: Youth Council Celebrating ten years
Page 7: harlow Issue 34 For Council tenants
Page 11 and 12: Renewing Harlow England World Cup s
Page 13 and 14: What’s on Harlow this summer summ
Page 15 and 16: Councillor Information BUSH FAIR CH

Harlow Times Summer Edition - Harlow Council

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?